Arthur Zwane praised his players’ effort despite AmaZulu falling 1-0 to Mamelodi Sundowns at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Photo: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
AmaZulu FC head coach Arthur Zwane admitted he was left frustrated by his side’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns, but remained encouraged by the overall performance.
A late strike from Marcelo Allende sealed a tightly contested victory for Sundowns at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, sending the visitors to the top of the standings level on 38 points with Orlando Pirates. For Usuthu, it was a missed opportunity to close the gap on the league’s top three.
Zwane praised his players’ commitment and tactical discipline but expressed disappointment at coming away empty-handed.
“I am disappointed because the players gave everything,” Zwane told SuperSport after the match.
“We executed the plan in terms of waiting for the right moments. We had poor decision-making at some points in the final third entries; some of the players will learn, but I am disappointed, obviously, with the dropped points.”
Despite the defeat, Zwane felt his side had done enough to earn something from the encounter.
“We deserved at least a point in this game, although we weren’t playing for a point - we fancied our chances.”
AmaZulu created several promising opportunities but were unable to convert them, while substitute Allende made the difference late on to hand Sundowns maximum points.
Zwane highlighted the late timing of the winning goal as especially frustrating but emphasised that his squad is still developing and focused on cultivating a stronger, more resilient mentality.
“For us to concede just when the game was about to finish, we will take the positives from the game and move on,” he said.
“The group needs time; we are a work in progress, and the winning mentality is what we are trying to instil in this group.
“We cannot just let teams come here and collect maximum points—they must feel it. We felt we could have done better when it mattered and shown more killer instinct in front of goal.”
* Obakeng Meletse is Independent Media’s multi-sport writer. For fresh video content, follow our YouTube channel The Clutch